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Academic Analytics: The Uses of Management Information and
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ECAR Key Findings December 2005 Key Findings Academic Analytics: The Uses of Management Information and Technology in Higher Education Philip J. Goldstein Producing meaningful, accessible, and timely management information has long been the holy grail of higher education administrative technology. The last decade has seen institutions make substantial investments in enterprise computing infrastructure to meet this goal. But have we met it? Our information systems produce many reports, but are we getting the information we need? The pressure to provide management information is growing. Our institutions are resource- constrained and must often choose from among competing priorities. Most institutions are under intense pressure to maximize student retention and shorten time to graduation. Institutions are increasingly using the information they accumulate about their students to gain insights into big issues, such as academic performance, student success, persistence, and retention. Regulatory bodies, accreditation bodies, state agencies, and boards all are asking for more information to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of our institutions. Decreases in state aid to higher education are causing many public institutions to pursue alternative revenue streams. Each of these issues is increasing the demand for information. How successful are we at providing the information? If we provide it, is it usable? In short, are the investments we have made to improve our information infrastructure making a difference to our institutions? These are the questions that drove ECAR to study the topic of academic analytics. We wanted to understand several issues: How well are institutional information needs being met? What are the primary technologies institutions employ? How prevalent are advanced applications such as what-if analysis, predictive modeling, and automated alerts? How do institutional factors such as management climate, leadership, and culture contribute to the use of management information? 1 © Copyright 2005 EDUCAUSE. All rights reserved.
Transcript of Academic Analytics: The Uses of Management Information and
